Enhancing Wellbeing with the London Luminaries

About the talk

As part of the Richmond Arts and Ideas Festival, members of the London Luminaries including representatives from Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery, Orleans House Gallery, Marble Hill House and Pope’s Grotto, in conjunction with Royal Holloway, University of London, discussed the importance of the role of heritage in wellness for our community in both the buildings and the grounds. We highlighted how heritage properties now develop ways to encourage visitors to engage with historical landscapes to stimulate mind and body.

About the speakers

Judith Hawley is Professor of Eighteenth-Century Literature in the Department of English, Royal Holloway, University of London and frequently appears on BBC radio and TV. She is a Trustee of the Pope’s Grotto Preservation Trust. Her research interests range from gin to Grub Street and she has a particular interest in the history of the amateur performance.

Alex Palombi introduced the theory of Occupational Science and discussed how it highlights ways in which engaging in meaningful environments is essential for basic needs and for us to be able to adapt and flourish. Professor Palombi is Head of the Department of Health Studies and Deputy Dean for the School of Life Sciences and the Environment at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is a dedicated and experienced clinician and educator committed to promoting healthy communities through inclusive education. She has promoted these values as an occupational therapist practitioner and as a healthcare educator for the past 30 years to enable people and communities to access meaningful occupations in their own environment where dignity, belonging and identity are established and wellbeing is promoted. Alex has practiced on four continents in both rural and urban communities empowering people with conditions to live their chosen lifestyle. More recently she has diversified her portfolio to include global health and public concerns focussing on the benefits of biodiversity and nature to wellbeing.

Tim Corum: Orleans House has an interesting wellbeing history, having been a bolt hole for politicians and rest home for sailors. It currently houses the borough’s art collection and promotes creative thinking about how a heritage and cultural space can help rewild us to reimagine ourselves to support our community. This talk discusses current projects and explain how Orleans House explores ways heritage can foster new ideas underpinned by the past. Tim has worked in arts and culture for over 30 years, principally in museums and galleries, developing museum exhibitions and festivals at Oldham, Leeds, Bristol, the Horniman in London and now with Richmond Arts Service.

Giles Abbott: Alexander Pope was in pain every day, his body twisted by disease. Nonetheless, he taught eighteenth-century England how to write well, garden well and live well. Disabled storyteller, Giles Abbott explores how Pope’s life and poetry can inspire us today. His style of gardening, inspired by his love of both nature and Classical literature, was an influence on the English landscape gardening movement. Giles Abbott is an award-winning storyteller and an experienced vocal coach. He tells stories for all ages at club nights, festivals and schools. He gives storytelling workshops for children to increase literacy, promote team working and to inspire imagination. For adults, his workshops instil confidence and remind us how to create and tell compelling stories, helping anyone to lose themselves, find themselves, in the worlds evoked by our words.

Rachel Morrison discusses how Marble Hill House, place of sanctuary for the royal mistress Henrietta Howard and now a free-to-enter Georgian villa set in sixty-six acres of public parkland, has been revived. From Georgian retreat to wartime community farm, to present-day home of personal trainers and forest bathers, Marble Hill has evolved to support the community through a variety of wellbeing initiatives. Learn how this English Heritage property supports public wellbeing programmes including work with LGBTQ teenagers, domestic abuse survivors and disabled groups who enjoy a range of re-creative activities. Rachel was the Audience Engagement Manager for the National Lottery Heritage Fund project Marble Hill Revived, which initiated a number of projects including the London Luminaries. Rachel previously was Managing Director of Nomad Pop Up Cinema and was site manager of the Fountain TV Studios.

Lucy Edwards is the Executive Assistant to Director and Communications Officer at Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery. Lucy graduated from the University of Edinburgh in July 2021 with Honours in English Literature. Lucy is interested in heritage and its impact on modern visual culture; her dissertation focused on the permanence of the country home in the English cultural memory. Since June 2022, Lucy has been involved in diversifying Pitzhanger’s audiences and promoting exhibitions and events which aim to inspire local communities through art, architecture and design. Currently, Lucy is working on a collaboration with West London NHS Trust for Speech and Language Therapy Awareness Month (18 September – 18 October) dedicated to raising awareness for speech, language and communication needs for children under five and families in Ealing. Pitzhanger will host a series of support workshops for parents and family activities which use art and creativity as a way to connect.